


Hope is on Our Side

by kaleidomusings



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Family, Feelings, Friendship, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 09:59:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7840375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidomusings/pseuds/kaleidomusings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For as long as she can remember, Orihime has always had others to protect her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope is on Our Side

**Author's Note:**

> Set during Orihime's imprisonment in Hueco Mundo.

For as long as she can remember, Orihime has always had others to protect her. 

She doesn't mind, of course. She knows that she's not as strong as her friends. She knows that she'll never be on the same level as them in terms of power or skill, but she has also come to realize that she can't depend on them forever. After finding people she wants to protect with her life -Kurosaki-kun, especially-, it's obvious that she will never be of any use to them if she can't get stronger.

And even though such a feat might not be possible for someone like her, Orihime wants to try anyway. She wants to do all she can now, to the very best of her ability, so she doesn't have any regrets later on. 

After all, she isn't a little girl anymore.

When Orihime was in elementary school, she remembered how the teacher would tell the class to hold hands while on field trips, so no one would get lost. Because as long as the students were connected -as long as they were together-, they could trust that their partner would always be by their side. 

It was a good lesson, she thinks now, a bit older and a little wiser than she was at the time. It was a perfect way to keep the children safe. It was just a shame that no one ever wanted to hold her hand. 

As much as Orihime wants to say that it never hurt her, that she doesn’t mind that her classmates hated her simply because she looked different, she can't. Because it _was_ painful, whenever she had to walk alone. It was lonely, being treated the way she was, just because she wasn’t the same as everyone else. 

Fortunately for her, she had her older brother Sora with her during those hard times. And -although it didn’t exactly solve all of her problems- it certainly made them seem trivial in comparison when she knew that he loved her. It was Sora who protected her from abusive parents, who raised her at the cost of his own future, who protected her long after he died, who willingly put his soul to rest so that she wouldn’t get hurt anymore. 

And after he passed away, Tatsuki-chan was there for her. It was all thanks to Tatsuki-chan that Orihime was able to get through her brother’s death. It was thanks to her that Orihime didn’t have to worry about the bullies at school, and it's thanks to her that Orihime always has someone she trusts by her side whenever she's feeling lonely or discouraged. She eventually has other friends too, but none of them could ever compare to the love she feels for Tatsuki-chan.

That is, until Orihime meets Kurosaki-kun. 

Not the Kurosaki-kun she knows from school, the one who has a habit of growling and grumbling at anything that moves, but the Shinigami Kurosaki-kun. The one who throws himself into danger and risks his life to protect people he hardly even knows. The Kurosaki-kun she fell in love with. The Kurosaki-kun she'd protect with her life. 

Despite how silly it might seem to think, since that day when Kurosaki-kun saved her from the hollow her brother had become, Orihime liked to believe he also gave her a piece of himself. His determination, his unshakeable resolve, a strength that she never knew she possessed. 

Now, it was a part of her that no one could ever take away. 

Even as a prisoner in Hueco Mundo, Orihime knows that Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san and the rest of their friends were fighting all over Los Noches to rescue her and will never stop believing in her friends. She believes in them and will keep on praying for their safety. 

After all, with Kurosaki-kun’s presence all around her, it's as comforting as if he were really holding her hand.

So although Orihime might be scared and even though she has no idea what to expect, she won't give up. 

She trusts that her friends will make it out of this alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Another old fic that I had up on Livejournal that I'm reposting here. It was originally titled "Trust", because I've never been great at coming up with titles, although I think I've gotten a bit better at it since when I first wrote this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it and please leave kudos and comments! I always love to hear from the people who read my writing!


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